“Securing this grant for the Urban Farm will create a healthier food source for many of our citizens.”

College Park
Themetroatalantaurbanfarm.com
Nov 5, 2016

Excerpt:

One notable aspect of the farm is that it specializes in growing year-round, and includes varieties of fruits and vegetables not typically grown in metro Atlanta’s climate. The farm recently installed solar panels, and collects water from underground springs for hydration.

Wilson says his vision and responsibility are simple. “Self- sufficiency, self-sustainability and every effort to protect the environment,” he added. “We don’t want anything to leave the farm, so we’ll compost, reuse water, collect solar energy and more.”

“Terraces home serves as a constant reminder of the origin of paddy rice civilization in a flat world context, threatened by various types of pollution currently at an alarming level.”

Design Boom
Nov 6, 2016

Excerpts:

In Vietnam, H&P architects has completed a large residence featuring accessible platforms that integrate urban farming as a basis for sustainable development. located in the city of ha tinh, ‘terraces home’ seeks to combine architecture with agriculture, forming a new typology that the architects refer to as ‘agritecture’. influenced by the country’s terraced rice fields, the property intends to dissolve boundaries between internal and external living.

Our experiment with growing ginger is just one example of how urban farms can be hot beds of innovation; pioneering new sustainable growing techniques, developing novel crops, and testing new markets.

By Matt Kauffman
Buffalo Rising
October 20, 2016

Excerpt:

Being a tropical plant, growing local sources of ginger in Buffalo is going to include significant challenges. Nonetheless, last year, 5 Loaves Farm was the first farm in WNY to bring local ginger to market. Our “baby ginger” was grown in our hoop houses, right here on the West Side of Buffalo! This year a number of other growers are now trying it out, and our local sources of ginger are growing…

Other ventures by the city to promote rice consumption include establishing an eco-friendly rice production complex, expanding the sales network and support for Gyeongbokgung Rice, and launching field study programs for students. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)

Despite being the most crowded city in Korea, Seoul is still home to 602 rice farms.

By Korea Bizarre
October 10, 2016

Excerpt:

In 2015, some 3.49 million square meters of land were devoted to rice farming in Korea’s capital, producing 1,805 tons of rice, which roughly equals the total daily consumption of the city’s population of 10 million – given that the average rice consumption per capita is 172.3 grams per day (2015).

Of the rice farmed in Seoul, 54 percent was sold to retail franchises, 26 percent to the government, and 15 percent directly to consumers. The rest was consumed by the farmers themselves.

A panel discussion chaired by Jayant Kumar Banthia, former State Chief Secretary and chancellor, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), presented several ideas to incorporate urban farming into the city’s plans

By Diipti Jhangiani
The Hindu
Oct 9, 2016

Excerpt:

During the launch, Dr. Parasnis presented the carbon baseline survey of Navi Mumbai. She also shared vital statistics on the high pesticide and heavy metal content in commercially-grown fruits and vegetables. She shared the results of a survey by the University of Baroda, showing how commercially-grown fruits and vegetables contain pesticides like Aldrin, Chlordane, Dichlorvos much beyond the when permissible levels were 0.1 mg/kg.

The Urban Agriculture package, meanwhile, does propose specific incentives to encourage farming. It proposes bypassing public review and approval entirely, to automatically allow farms on up to nearly an acre of commercial-zoned land, or of unlimited size on unoccupied residential land. The Urban Agriculture package expands this by-right approval to construction of greenhouses, sheds, and fences; community gatherings and group class instruction; and sales of both raw and processed foods. It imposes no limitations on use of GMOs, pesticides, fertilizer, or industrial farming equipment.

From January 2016 until just a few weeks ago, 30 nanofarms have been put through their paces in the homes of our beta testers. Each beta tester has had the chance to harvest between 2-4 crops of produce, and they are very happy with the results.

While the beta testers agree the nanofarm does a great job growing food, they had lots of helpful criticism that led to the added features you see in the production model:

The landscaping at the Annacis Research Centre and the City Farmer Demonstration Garden exemplifies sustainable approaches outlined in Metro Vancouver’s new, online Grow Green Guide. And we look at an herbal alternative to a grass lawn.

In this June 1, 2016 photo, Petra Lezama prepares a salad with vegetables from her roof garden, where she keeps a photo of Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, Venezuela. Lezama and her husband Francisco are government supporters who have turned to urban gardening to keep fresh vegetables in their diets, as fresh produce has become an unaffordable luxury for many. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)See more photos in Daily Mail.

Francisco Salazar, head of a community council that works in Caracas slums, says he and his neighbors are growing beets, black beans, lettuce and dozens of other vegetables in a large community garden.

By Fabiola Sanchez
Associated Press
July 04, 2016

Excerpt:

Some Venezuelans who had given up produce as an unaffordable luxury are now turning to urban farming to get vegetables back into their diets.

B.Good, in Boston, is embarking on a new experiment in hyperlocal sourcing.

By Adele Peters
Fast Co-Exist
06.30.16

Excerpt:

They began growing kale in an unused alley next to a restaurant. In 2015, they started buying kale from an urban farmer using a hydroponic shipping container in Boston, and then began operating their own kale-filled shipping container under a local highway.

The island farm seemed like a natural next step. The island has an unusual history; for years, it served as the site of homeless shelters, and a farm next to the shelters helped feed residents and doubled as a job training program. But when the rickety bridge leading from Boston to the island was declared unsafe and demolished in 2014, the farm and shelters were abandoned.

Community Services Director Erik Strunk, Assistant Director of Community Services Tim Bernard and Parks and Recreation administrator Mike Gregory address the council on urban farming on undeveloped park land throughout the city. Photo by Darrell Jackson.

Heroes Regional Park has approximately 50 acres, Orangewood approximately 38 acres and Northern Horizon approximately 28 acres. City staff has researched either allowing use at cost to the farmers or leasing the land.

By Darrell Jackson,
The Glendale Star
June 16, 2016

Excerpt:

Parks and Recreation Administrator Mike Gregory told council the potential for farming of the land would help with aesthetics by making current land a green belt and help control blowing dust.

“We discussed an interim farming to improve the appearance and limiting dust control,” Gregory said. “It would be the responsibility of the farmers to maintain the land and they would pay for any water used on the land.”

Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff asked staff about the option on leasing the land to potential farmers, rather than just allowing them to use the land free of charge.

Common Roots also offers an Agriculture Farm Share program for those who want to pay one price in advance for the season’s produce.

By LaMonica Peters
Cable News Buffalo
Sunday, May 22, 2016

Excerpt:

“I think this area in particular, there’s not a lot of food available, fresh local food,” she said. “A lot of people in this community are low income. Not everybody drives, there are a lot seniors. People aren’t able to go far out to get what they need.”

One of the main crops at the Common Roots Urban Farm are peas. They’re planted in April and they’ll grow up a trellis and be harvested by June.

“We grow over 35 different varieties of vegetables,” Dumas said. “We did add some grapes last year and some raspberries. We have a small fruit orchard that’ll be producing in a few years.”